Ex-Sheriff Block’s Widow Gets $233,000 Yearly Pension

The widow of former Los Angeles County Sheriff Sherman Block, who was America’s highest paid public official, should get a pension equal to his salary, because he was with the department 42 years and his death was job-related, a county pension board said.

In October 1998, Block, 74, fell in the bathroom and suffered a massive brain hemorrhage. He died three days after surgery to remove a blood clot from his brain. Before his final illness, Block had survived two bouts with cancer and suffered kidney failure, requiring him to undergo dialysis three times a week.

The panel voted unanimously Wednesday to grant Alyce Block about $233,000 annually.

“She’s definitely the highest paid widow in the country,” said Simon S. Russin, one of nine members of the county’s retirement board. “No other public servant, including the president of the U.S. and senators, made as much as Block.”

Bill Clinton will receive an annual $151,800 presidential pension when he leaves the White House in 2001.

Because medical records are confidential, Richter said, she could not explain why Block’s death was considered job-related.

“But I can say that Block had health problems that were considered service-related,” she said. “It doesn’t necessarily mean that the job was the immediate cause of death, just that other illnesses may have contributed to the death. Let’s say you have a job that’s very stressful and you get high blood pressure and eventually have a heart attack. That could be seen as service-related. . . . The same benefits apply to everyone in the county, whether you’re sheriff or a janitor.”

Block was “on the job more than 40 years,” Russin said, “and endured a lot of stress and strain.” A service-connected death means the employment with the county either caused or “aggravated or exacerbated” the death, Russin said.

Another reason Block’s widow is entitled to such a large pension is because he could have retired at full pay as a result of his 42 years with the department. A relatively small number of sheriff’s officers stay with the department long enough to retire at full pay, said Marsha Richter, chief executive officer of the county Employee’s Retirement Assn.

Alyce Block would have received 60% of his salary, about $140,000 a year, if his death had not been judged the result of his job. Half of her pension will be tax-free, according to state law.

At the time of his death, Block was locked in a hotly contested battle for reelection. Block, who was sheriff almost 17 years, was seeking his fifth term.

Although he died a few days before the November election, his name remained on the ballot. Current Sheriff Lee Baca won with 61% of the vote.